What you Do
by Itzarit
Summary: Rizeth and Phyton are cousins who since childhood have become engaged by family tradition. The closest of friends since childhood, Rizeth begins to have some doubts whether she should really keep up a life that has been completely laid out for her.
1. Chapter 1

"Why are you nice to me?"

The girl leaned on her palm, letting her long black hair fall like a curtain behind her wrist. Her dark eyes were narrowed slightly as she eyed the boy sitting besides her, almost as if she was bored.

In the background there was the pleasant hum of many people talking at once. The low light and the flavory smells filling the dining hall of Hogwarts gave everything a homey feeling.

The boy and girl sat among others dressed in black and green. They were from the Slytherin house, but more than fitting in smoothly, the other students sitting around them seemed uncomfortable and bitterly annoyed.

"_Why are you nice to me?_"

The girl had to repeat her question stressing her words, since the boy only placed down his spoon and hunched his head timidly, but said nothing.

"U-uhm...w-why?" The boy stuttered, lifting his face just enough to peer at her from the corner of his eyes, his light gray irises seeming unfocused.

The girl continued to watch him with her uninterested expression, so cold the boy's eyes widened slightly as if alarmed and he looked down to his lap shyly once more.

"Why...?" The boy repeated.

The girl, seeming fed up with it looked away and sighed audibly.

"Why do you get so worked up over it?" she said seeming exasperated, "it's just a simple question. _Why_ do you feel you always have to be nice to me?"

A girl with short blonde hair sitting across the table from them looked up from her plate. Like everyone else around them, a grimace was making her wrinkle her nose as if something stinked.

"What ever do you mean, Rizeth?" The girl began, catching the boy and girl's attention as a nasty sneer made its way into her face. "Even if he _had _anything against you, he wouldn't dare say it aloud. Phyton is a wimp."

The girl who went by Rizeth tensed her jaw, her black eyes like daggers as she eyed the other girl with silent hostility. The timid boy, Phyton, was looking from Rizeth's dangerous expression to the girl's unsympathetic sneer. His eyes were wide and his pink lips were parted slightly in surprise.

"Wh-wh-what!?" He stuttered out in a cry, making both girls break their locked glares, his cheeks shading into a bright pink as he struggled to continue, "I-I'm n-_not_ a wimp!"

The blonde girl's expression relaxed as she cocked an eyebrow at Phyton testily. Rizeth only watched him silently, her eyes skimming over his face as if looking for something.

"_Ohh. _Aren't you _bold_." The girl said sarcastically, a happy smirk coming to her face, "how does it feel to talk back to someone for the first time in your life? Good?"

She laughed amused.

On his lap, Phyton clenched his fists slightly. He closed his eyes briefly, letting his dark gray locks fall over his eyes and took a sharp small breath.

"_Shut up!_"

The girl caught her breath abruptly at the sharpness in his voice, her eyes narrowing as if in suspicion.

The others sitting around the three, paused their dinner, too, at the boy's sudden outburst. All of them had their eyes on him, and Phyton felt it, too as he lifted his face, now a hot red, and continued, his teeth bare in anger.

"Shut up, Mildred. I am not _weak_, I am not a _wimp_." His expression became darker, the blush fading little by little as he met the eyes of all who were staring at him baffled. He seemed like a completely new person. "I am not someone that can be trampled and treated lightly—" he slammed his palms against the table, rattling the plates and making everyone jump "—I am the first son of Darius Trancy, destined to marry the first daughter of Robert Trancy, and the next successor to the head of the Trancy household! Any who look down on me and my cousin are not worth the—"

Rizeth stood swiftly from the bench and clasped a hand over his mouth firmly, cutting his words. "That's enough, Phyton." she said grimly.

Hatred flashed into Phyton's eyes for a moment, but as he reached to jerk her hand away, he recognized the feeling of her skin and his expression turned in a blink innocently stunned. His gray eyes round and glistering almost in tears he pulled away Rizeth's hand gently and sighed softly closing his eyes as his eyelashes shivered.

"I'm sorry." he said softly to everyone, but no one in particular. He stood, his face still lowered, and taking hold of Rizeth's arm, they silently exited the dining hall together.

Mildred watched them go, a pleased smirk making its way into her face. She huffed heavily through her nose like a horse.

"And I always _did_ wonder how such a wimp could end up in Slytherin. Seems he's not such an air-head after all." She said.

A boy with scrubby brown hair sitting beside her piped up in interest. "Oh, what a show! But... 'marry the first daughter of _someone_-Trancy'... What did he mean by that? Who is it? Is he seriously already engaged at this age?"

A girl with small red pigtails who had been sitting next to Phyton not so long ago clicked her tongue audibly as she placed down a slice of pumpkin pie on her plate.

"Didn't you know?" she said seeming annoyed, "Phyton and Rizeth are engaged. They're cousins, but it's something the Trancy family does to—" she seemed more irritated as she did quotations with her fingers at the next words "—'keep the bloodline pure'."

The boy's expression turned mild in sympathy as he thought over her words.

"That sounds tough on them." He only said.

"Who cares. They're gross." both girls answered simultaneously. They paused as they eyed each-other startled and then laughed amused. The boy pouted slightly to himself and continued eating.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah. You scared me."

Phyton lowered his face shyly and mumbled a "sorry" as he sat down besides Rizeth on her bed. There was a light creaking from the ancient wood and then a sigh.

"You know—" Rizeth began, a teasing smile coming to her lips as she eyed him, "—it's funny. I heard that when a girl enters the boy dormitories nothing happens, but when a boy tries to enter the girl dormitories the stairs turn into a slide and they slip back down."

Phyton forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess the castle has a special liking to me, then?" he said.

Rizeth also smiled, but there was a silent pause.

Phyton, his hands resting on his lap as they always did, clenched into fists and as he pinned them tighter into his thighs. Rizeth eyed him with interest, her eyes resting on the side of his face covered by his hair.

"I'm sorry if I scared you."

Rizeth continued to watch him, mostly because she thought she knew what he was talking about, but couldn't be too certain. "You're so weird." she only said.

"—I mean, back in the dining hall." He tried to correct, lifting his face to look at her directly, but then suddenly averting his eyes shyly at her intense look, "—I was just so angry, I didn't want..." He drifted off, but Rizeth knew what he meant.

She wouldn't say it aloud, but she knew 'wimp' must have not been the worst insult Phyton had ever received. When he had been younger Phyton had kept his hair to his waist and was constantly confused to be a girl, but a week before enrolling in Hogwarts he had cut his hair short like a boy.

But his gray eyes were still too sparkly and feminine and his dark gray hair was too silky and shiny and even though it barely reached past his ears he still looked like a girl with short hair. That he had refined manners and a gentle personality only added to this.

Rizeth knew well, that once the other boys and girls confirmed Phyton was in fact not a girl they'd pick on him because he was different. She didn't really think Phyton cared about it, he was used to it. He cared that this time he had been insulted in front of Rizeth.

"I wasn't _scared_." Rizeth answered him testily, "I was a little amazed, but I wasn't _surprised_..."

Phyton lifted his face from his lap to look at her directly. He gave her a light and pleasant smile. It was a rare but beautiful sight, it always made Rizeth's insides stir happily.

"_Yeah_," she continued, the teasing smile becoming more pronounced on her lips, "you've always been a top."

Phyton caught his breath at her words, the serene smile abruptly replaced by a brush of red across his face. "D-don't say it like _that_!" He cried tensely, covering his face with his hands embarrassed.

Rizeth laughed at him, but before she was finished completely she had clenched her fists to her knees and was leaning forth slightly as if sulking.

"—And about the question I asked you before, I guess I already have my answer, right?" Rizeth continued too softly, making Phyton turn to look at her dark expression concerned.

"What ever do you mean?" he asked her growing uneasy.

"The way you abruptly went off talking about being the successor to the Trancy house—" She paused as if she was uncomfortable, her black eyes tracing their way up the marble flooring as Phyton continued to eye her frowning slightly as if worried, "It just came out of your mouth so naturally, I believe that is where your mind really is, isn't it?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked her again, as he fidgeted slightly.

Rizeth licked her lips and fixed her eyes on the lamp besides her bed, frowning slightly. "I mean, that it's obvious your main goal in life is to be the head of the Trancy household. Your engagement with me is just a step to that. That means you're nice to me because you know it might benefit you later in life."

Rizeth's voice grew lower and lower and she finally turned to look back at Phyton, her eyes strangely sad.

"Am I wrong?" She ended flatly.

"Mm...!?" He answered caught in alarm by her stare. "I-I uhm—w-well, i-it _is _im-impo-_important_, b-but I, uhm..." Phyton drifted off as he turned his face away from Rizeth to grimace to himself as if in pain. He hated himself for not being able to simply say the answer he knew very plainly.

_No_, he wanted to say, _no, Rizeth, you are absolutely and completely wrong. I'm nice to you because I want you to love me. _

The only words he _did_ say were not what Rizeth needed. She was breathing in huffs as she watched Phyton's turned head. Her eyes stung. She clenched her fists.

_Rizeth... _Phyton could only think, _since we were kids, when your Mother was murdered by a strange man and you shut yourself in your room and never let anyone get close to you again. Not your Father or any of our cousins or aunts or uncles... You shut everybody out, except me._

_What did you see in me? What was so special? Why did you only let me get close to you? Was it because I looked so much like a girl you thought I could never harm you?_

_It doesn't matter. I don't care._

_What is important to me is that even as kids when you pushed me into the dirt, or stole my candy, I was the only one that made you happy. Me, and nobody else. _

_But somehow... when I watch you walk away my heart becomes sad and I think 'Why can't you belong completely to me?'. _

Rizeth stood abruptly from the bed and in what seemed like a lonely expression she crossed her arms over her chest in a self-hug and turned to the wall.

"I'm going to sleep." she told him, her voice flat. "Please leave, Phyton. We'll meet tomorrow."

Phyton turned quickly to look at her, his lips just shaping a "no", but he lowered his eyes to her feet miserably and was silent.

"...O-okay." he said softly and stood from her bed heavily. "G-good night...Rizeth."

"Good night." she almost snapped.

As Phyton walked out, a pair of twins walked in with black bowl cuts and big bows at the sides of their heads, one pink and the other blue.

"Cute guy in the girl dorms!? He was on my bed, Ivanna!" Piped the pink bow happily.

"Shut up, Ikanna. It's only Phyton." Grumbled back the blue bow annoyed.

Rizeth walked to the side of her bed, where she picked up a black furry ball from her pillow with both hands and brought it to her shoulder. With a pleasant _chirr chirr_ an almost round black rat dug in its small fingers into her robe as she turned and started walking out of the room.

"Hey!?" Cried out the pink bow after her as she settled down on her bed, shifting as if it was uncomfortable, "you're gonna get it if Snape finds you out at these hours—" she began, but was cut in by blue bow. "—shut up, Ikanna, you don't even know if she's going outside the common room."

Rizeth shut the door as she left.

"_Hehe_." As she watched her go, pink bow gave a small amused laugh as she turned to look at her sister on the adjacent bed, a mischievous smile coming to her lips. "Ivanna, lets lock the door when she comes back, give her a good scare or something."

"Shut up, Ikanna." Blue bow only answered flatly. "Go to sleep."


	3. Chapter 3

The moonlight shined through the stained glass windows above Rizeth's head. There were messenger owls perched on the high ceiling, making soft cooing sounds as they settled down for sleep. Rizeth sat on the wooden floor, her pet rat fast asleep on her lap. She was calmly stroking her fingers through its hair which shined an oily dark blue in the moonlight.

"Isn't it nice to be you?" she said sweetly, a sad smile coming to her lips.

Her pale skin seemed to glow in the faint lighting, smooth like white porcelain. The thing about Rizeth, was that her beauty wasn't something that could be easily grasped and labeled. Her dull black eyes and long black hair gave her a natural, simple beauty, the kind that could be shaped into _anything_. She had the grace to curl her hair and put on make-up and compete in a beauty pageant, and the fierceness to tie her hair back and put on war-paint and go off to battle. Anything would seem natural on her, as if she was born to be there.

But even though Rizeth wasn't self-conscious of her looks, she could almost _feel_ all the potential, and it almost gripped her neck tightly, threatening to make her lose her mind.

She stopped stroking her pet and brought her slender, white fingers to the small hoop resting lightly on her neck. It was the shape of a small silver snake coiled onto itself. Her father had given her that necklace on her second birthday.

Rizeth had been barely gaining conscience of existing in the world when her father had bound her... bound her to belonging in the house of Slytherin when she was older, like all the others before her in the Trancy household.

_Am I following a life... that has been previously laid out for me? Do I even take my own decisions? Do I even control my own life?_

Rizeth gripped the small snake in her fist, as she stared darkly onto the floor. Her soft breaths wheezing lightly through her lips.

An image of Phyton's pleading face as he cast down his eyes and apologized quietly came into her mind.

_'I'm sorry.'_

She took a deep breath to try and steady herself as she felt the hot heavy tears starting to rim her eyes. She shook her head furiously and squeezed her palms tightly over her eyes to stop them from overflowing.

_In the end Phyton was no better than the other greedy pigs in the Trancy house. Always seeking power, always seeking their own personal fulfillment. 'Trancy' is no more than a word that bounds our people together. We are not a family. We are hypocrites, we are fakes. We treat each other with respect and fraternity only so that it's easier to..._

_...stab each other's backs, steal each other's positions. Nobody in our family knows how to love, nobody knows how it feels to truly care about another person. We only exist_—

_"_— _to dominate. To conquer. To destroy and rebuild to your own image..."_

Rizeth unconsciously found herself remembering her first year in Hogwarts, more precisely the words of the Sorting Hat the day she was assigned to the house of Slytherin.

_"_—_you have an incorruptible sense of duty. Your will is strong and flawless. You are capable of achieving possibly anything you set your mind to... but your heart is corrupted."_

Rizeth could remember growing angry at these words. She had gritted her teeth and only thought _'get this over with!'_, but the Sorting Hat would not allow her to go without finishing its message.

_"Rizeth Trancy, don't let it consume you. Those feelings to dominate. To conquer. To destroy and rebuild to your own image. To make everything submit before you pitifully. It can only destroy you... or bring you the greatest of advantages_... _SLYTHERIN!"_

Rizeth remembered not being in the least surprised her father's prediction ten years before had come true. It was all predicted she'd be assigned to Slytherin. It was also predicted that she should be sitting beside her cousin, and fiancée, Phyton when she arrived to the table of Slytherin. It was predicted she would be a student with incomparable genius and a wizard of insuperable power. It was all predicted or expected, no surprises.

But it never finished convincing Rizeth.

_What a fake my life is_, Rizeth thought bitterly, _a big, fake theater play, where I'm the tragic heroine..._

_I only wish... _she suddenly thought yearningly, unconsciously clutching her rat to her chest to which it screeched in protest, _I only wish..._

She remembered Phyton's small innocent smile and her chest tightened.

_I only wish for a person to desire to be at my side for who I am..._

Rizeth sighed softly as she pushed herself to her feet, still clutching the squealing rat to her chest. She turned to the spiral staircase leading back into the main building, but didn't move.

Her back tensed as she heard the barely perceivable sounds of footsteps coming up the staircase. She had a slight uneasy feeling to be caught in such a place, almost as if it was compromising, but she exhaled deeply and waited for the footsteps to reach the top.

She knew it couldn't be a teacher, but...

A head of black messy hair appeared first to her sight, then the glare being reflected off a pair of spectacles. It wasn't long before a boy of her own age appeared before her, a beautiful snow owl perched on his forearm as he approached. He spotted Rizeth standing aimlessly in middle of the room as the snow owl took flight off his arm to perch into the ceiling above with the other owls.

They stared at each other in silence for some seconds, white feathers drifting slowly in the air between them.

"I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here." The boy apologized softly, as he walked up to Rizeth, the hem of his pajama pants rustling slightly against the floor. The colors of the house of Gryffindor, Rizeth noticed silently.

"Mm. It's nothing." Rizeth answered just as softly, as she cradled her rat into a single arm to brush off the feathers from her clothes. "It's late. I'm impressed somebody could sneak out at this time without getting caught..."

The boy laughed. Rizeth liked the way he showed his teeth when he smiled.

"I could say the same to you." he answered lightly, then held out his hand in a friendly way. "I'm Harry Potter." He said.

"Rizeth Trancy." Rizeth answered, shaking his hand. They smiled at each other appraisingly, then looked away in an awkward pause. Rizeth sighed and began to walk around him.

"I guess I will be heading off to bed, now." she said apologetically, and the boy only nodded as if allowing it.

"I guess I'll see you around, then." He answered, his tone piking slightly.

As Rizeth reached the staircase she turned back to look at the boy who went by Harry, and caught him watching her. A smile cracked her lips and she laughed amused.

"You're so weird." she told him out of nowhere.

"—what? Me?" Harry answered seeming innocently surprised, "Why?"

Rizeth shook her head and laughed again. "You walk into someone from a rival house in middle of the night and your suspicion is not in the least piked. Can Gryffindors really afford to be this carefree and trustful?" She said, her tone teasing.

"Huh?" Answered Harry, once more approaching her. This time he seemed to examine her clothing more closely as a playful grin suddenly came to his lips. "I don't think I'm letting my guard down when it seems you were the one lost here. You're here because you needed to think something over by yourself, right?"

Rizeth looked at him as if he had drenched her in cold water. "Wh-wha-_how_ did you know!?" she blurted.

Harry's smile grew wider as he confirmed his words. He nodded knowingly. "You had that sort of expression." he explained calmly.

Rizeth recovered herself and giggled softly at him. She hopped down a step and looked up at him again, her eyes narrowing playfully. "For a Gryffindor you're pretty nice." She informed him.

"For a Slytherin... well, you, too." He answered pleasantly and then grinned.

"No—" Rizeth tried to correct herself, her voice growing faint as she cast her eyes down slightly uneasy, "I mean... as in Gryffindors are usually indifferent to us."

Harry focused his green eyes on her and nodded uncertainly. "Because usually Slytherins are unjustifiably cruel to everyone—"

"—_but, you were nice to me_."

They found each other simultaneously spurting out the same words in the same hesitant tone.

Rizeth met Harry's eyes and couldn't help but smile.


	4. Chapter 4

"Can I help you with something, _Trancy_?"

The flirtatious way in which the words were said made a shiver run through Phyton's back. He paused as he headed out the Slytherin common room, and turned hesitantly, a gaping smile making it clear he was uneasy.

"Ha...Hi, Nate." Phyton muttered faintly, a boy with ruffled brown hair and an elegant presence came to stand before him, eyeing him with dangerously narrowed eyes like a predator to its prey.

"Ooh," the boy who went by Nate said, bringing his fingertips to his lips in a coquettish expression as he spoke, "I only ask since you seem so lost and everything without Rizeth leading you by the nose."

Slight shock came into Phyton's face, but he opened his mouth and closed it once more seeming strained. "Gh..." he only muttered, lowering his eyes. "Do you... do you know where she is, Nate?" he asked.

Nate's smile widened at his reactions, it was almost a pleasantly happy grin. "Oh, of course I do, but why would I make it so easy, _Trancy_?"

Still smiling, Nate's fingers snatched to grip Phyton sharply by the chin, jerking his head back so that their eyes met. For a moment Phyton thought Nate would kiss him, but the impertinence in his brown eyes clearly told him "_aren't you a sweet, little filth?_"

"Ah...Nate..." Phyton complained faintly, his teeth grinding, "what do you want?" he asked weakly.

Nate drew back his hand gripping Phyton and brought it to his own chin in a thoughtful gesture, his pleasant smile turning into a devious smirk as he eyed the boy. This gave Phyton a sudden feeling of fear.

"You already know what I want." Nate answered almost in a snap.

Phyton gave a small whimper in his throat, an embarrassed blush coming to his face as he looked away uncertainly.

"Na-Nate..." He protested faintly.

That day of _all days_ he had to run into Nate, Phyton thought bitterly. And him being, too, possibly the only one who could point out were Rizeth might have left to so early in the morning. He had planned to go to her room early and attempt to apologize for anything and everything until she forgave him, but she hadn't been there that morning. Her bed was still unmade, but she had left long ago, according to her roommates.

"Is she... is she having breakfast in the main hall?" Phyton attempted softly, but Nate shook his head right away with impatience.

"Nu-uh, no free information, Trancy. You can go to the main hall, but then she will have most likely gone off farther, making it harder for you to catch up with her."

Phyton did not know if Nate was only trying to trick him, but he heavily suspected it. He gnawed on his lower lip nervously, unsure of what to do. Nate _did _have a point, but...

"I'll—I'll..." Phyton became even more nervous as he began to turn away from Nate, an apologetic expression coming to his face. "I'm s-sorry, Nate, but I'll—I'll look for her myself, th-thanks."

As Phyton tried to hurry away, he yelped surprised as he felt a tight grip snatch him by the shoulder, jerking him back. Phyton cringed as Nate held him tightly by both shoulders, looking down at him with the faintest trace of hostility, his brown eyes dangerously set on him.

"Is this the way to treat those who try to help you out?" he said in an indignant tone, but then with a murderous smile creeping into this lips, his voice turned low and seductive. "You're a rude little boy..."

Nate suddenly leaned into Phyton, making him catch his breath in a panic. Phyton blushed flustered as he felt Nate's hair tickle his cheek, his body automatically tensing as his space was invaded.

"What—what are you—?" Phyton blurted nervously, but Nate cut in impatiently with a "_Shhhhh_."

"You're an awfully rude little boy, you know that?" Nate continued in his low voice, his hot breath making the small hairs on Phyton's neck prickle. "But don't worry, lucky you, I know a really good way to_ force it out of you_."

"Kh—!" Phyton swallowed, trying to become smaller in Nate's grip.

An amused laughter rang around them and both boys froze, but Nate recovered himself quickly as he noticed the way Phyton's big feminine eyes seemed to widen even more on the verge of tears.

"_Trancy_, you look like a little lamb about to get swallowed by the wolf." An especially mocking voice said.

Nate released a snicker, and still gripping Phyton tightly, lifted his lips from his ear to look at the approaching boy, a nice, simple smile of comradeship coming to his lips. "Glad you could join the party, Malfoy." Nate said in a pleasantly sweet voice.

Phyton watched as Malfoy, a boy with sleek blonde hair, approached them. Walking behind him like bodyguards were two bigger, meaner-looking brunette boys. Phyton gulped. The common room was slowly filling, more with the commotion they were making, but nobody seemed to be willing to help Phyton out.

"Ma—" Phyton began calling Malfoy's name in a feeble attempt of rescue, but closed his mouth abruptly. Malfoy gave him an interested look as he stood up to them, a teasing smirk coming naturally to his lips.

"Now," he began easily, leaning casually on his side as he stood, "what did you have planned for him, Nate?"

Nate gave a soft laugh as he released his grip on Phyton's shoulders to rest a single arm around his back. Small sweat beads were visible on Phyton's temple as his gray eyes shifted from Nate to Malfoy anxiously.

"Well!" Nate exclaimed easily, tilting his head as he met Phyton's eyes in the most relaxed way, "I am a man of word, Phyton, so I will first tell you what you want to know. Yes, indeed, Rizeth left a while ago to eat breakfast in the main hall, but she also carried a stack of books with her, so she is most likely studying in the library at the moment."

Phyton exhaled, closing his eyes momentarily as he gave a relieved smile. "Thanks. Then I'll go and—" Phyton began to walk out from under Nate's arm, but he was suddenly yanked back by the collar, almost chocking as he stumbled backwards.

"N-Nate!" Phyton complained alarmed, as Nate slid his hands to the back of his head, and right under his jaw as if he was about to twist his neck from behind. "Kh—!" Phyton only managed to whimper, small tears beginning to rim his eyes.

Malfoy stood before him, still smirking as he laughed along with the other boys."Why so fast, Trancy?" He said playfully.

"Yeah," Agreed Nate from behind Phyton,"I just gave you my part of the deal, now you have to pay me back! And I'm not cheap, just so you know."

Nate brought Phyton closer to himself. Phyton cringed in a panic, unsure of what to expect.

"Wha... What do you want from me?" Phyton uttered weakly.

"You know what I want." Nate replied straight off in his impatient tone.

Malfoy tried to stifle a laugh with his hand as he eyed Nate, his eyebrows arching upward. "Are you really going to make him do it?" he said a little incredulous.

Nate nodded unhesitant at him, a triumphant expression coming to his face. "Like everyone isn't dying to see it, anyways..." He replied with a teasing smirk.

Malfoy gave a little laugh, as he brushed his fingers through the back of his hair, but said nothing. The two other boys behind him exchanged amused smirks.

Nate finally released his grip on Phyton, shoving him on the back so that he stood right in the middle between him and Malfoy. Phyton had a desperate look to his face as he began to shake his head, the tears starting to rim his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, his knees becoming unsteady.

"Mildred!" Phyton heard Malfoy call out towards an end of the room, "bring me your _nicest_ dress, so _Cinderella_ can go off to meet her prince."

The common room was nearly full by then. Snickers erupted all around them as Phyton once more opened his eyes.

He met Nate's predator glare as he stood above him, his slender fingers pressed coquettishly to the side of his face as he smiled pleasantly down at him.

"Start getting undressed, Princess, you don't want to be late to the ball." He told Phyton with a cruel ease.


	5. Chapter 5

"But—but she's one of _them_!"

Rizeth shifted uneasily at the words of the boy who went by Ron, but Harry, who sat besides her, titled his head at her and smiled reassuringly.

"You're being _childish_." The girl who went by Hermione answered him snappily, and then turned to Rizeth with interest. "So you say your last name is _Trancy_, like the famous alchemist?"

A smile broke Rizeth's lips as she nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, that's right. My grandfather was the great Horace Trancy, the first alchemist to suceed in turning any object into gold."

"That's an impressive accomplishment!" Piped Hermione seeming inspired, "could I ask you about—"

Ron gasped softly under his breath. "So, you mean your family is rich, then!" He cut in seeming amazed.

The smile wavered on Rizeth's lips as she smiled uneasy. "I—I guess so..." she answered awkwardly, but Harry noticed this, and as Rizeth cast her eyes down, he shook his head at Ron and Hermione and pressed his finger to his lips in a reproving gesture. Ron made a face at him, but Hermione shrugged defensively.

"Do I have to remind you two that the condition I had for tagging along with me today was that you had to let my new friend study in peace, without asking too many questions?" Harry said, seeming annoyed.

"But...!" Hermione began to protest, and Ron shook his head at Harry just as annoyed. "A _Gryffindor_ became friends with a _Slytherin_!" he exclaimed, "How on _earth_ are we supposed to sit by idly and not wonder how it happened? It's impossible!"

Rizeth smiled once more and laughed seeming amused at Ron's dissatisfaction. Harry leaned over the table they were sharing in the library, burying his face in the pages of a book. "_You're _impossible." He answered in a mutter.

Just then, they heard noise burst at the entrance of the library, the voices of many people talking at once.

Hermione shrugged irritated. "The library keeper will kick them out if they don't quiet down..." she said almost as a complaint, but all four of them eyed with interest the small crowd that was coming in together from the entrance. As the crowd entered the library completely, a single person burst forth from the middle of the crowd, in the process stumbling forth to the floor. Who seemed like a girl with short dark hair and a white pompous dress, panted slightly as she lay on the floor some seconds, before a forceful-seeming boy stepped out from the crowd to pick her up and press her to him by the waist.

"Come on, you idiot, take another picture!" The boy snapped at someone in the crowd before several flashes from cameras started going off.

"Aww, come on, Nate, I wanna take a picture with him, too!" Someone whined loudly.

"Yeah, me too, me too!" Someone else said.

"Who is that?" Ron asked, his eyes widening at the sight of the mysterious girl.

"Have you noticed they're all Slytherins?" Hermione pointed out to no one in particular, but the three of them nodded in interest.

"What do you think they're doing to that girl?" Harry wondered, too, seeming uneasy. "Do you guys think they're hurting her?"

Rizeth had a strange feeling of recognition, so she pushed herself up from her chair and leaned over the table attempting to get a better look of the girl some good yards away from them.

"That girl..." She muttered to herself.

At that moment, attempting once more to escape, the girl turned wildly in Rizeth's direction and started sprinting, but as she caught sight of Rizeth, she skidded to a hard stop, and between clenched teeth, and a terrified expression she yelped "Ri-Rizeth!"

Rizeth right away recognized the soft girly voice, and in sudden realization, her mouth fell open. "Ph-Phyton!?" She breathed in disbelief.

Phyton hurriedly ran up to her, nervously glancing over his shoulder at the crowd still attempting to follow him.

"P-please, Rizeth, I only need to talk to you for a little!" He said, his voice growing into a persistent little plea. "Will you come with me?"

Rizeth huffed and frowned her small pink lips. "First tell me why you're dressed like that!" She answered in a snap.

"Why is she wearing such an exaggerated dress during school?" Hermione asked quietly to Ron seeming slightly indignant. "What an exhibitionist!"

Ron elbowed her in complaint, "be quiet!" He snapped in a whisper, "She's the future mother of my children, she can do whatever she wants!"

"It's—It's a long story, okay!?" Phyton blurted to Rizeth, "Why don't you just come with me!?"

Harry pulled on Rizeth's sleeve as he eyed Phyton curiously. "Is she—is she one of your friends?" He asked.

Rizeth only closed her eyes momentarily seeming weary at the world and whatnot as she sighed exasperated.

"I don't want to." Rizeth finally answered Phyton in a dry snap. "I don't want to go with you."

Phyton's mouth fell open in disbelief, the light in his round innocent eyes growing dull as he watched her turn away from him.

Rizeth cast her eyes down as she pulled her coat from her chair and turned to Harry with a completely serious expression on her face. "Lets go down to the main hall, I bet lunch is already served." she told him with no real enthusiasm, but Harry nodded anyways at her, seeming uneasy.

They began to walk out the library, followed closely by Hermione and Ron who were constantly glancing over their shoulders back at the scene.

The noise of the crowd closed in once more on Phyton, but he stood still, without any will to move.

_No, _Phyton thought faintly. He felt someone grab him by the wrist and jerk him backwards. He didn't even try to resist.

_No, it can't be. What am I doing? _He continued to wonder faintly, desperately. _It can't end like this. No, it can't..._

He strained his neck to look through the crowd, over to the entrance of the library, where he saw the back of Rizeth's black hair as she walked away. She momentarily turned to look at the boy walking besides her and he met her eyes and they smiled at each other. They were reassuring smiles, the kind that only came with friendships that were deep in care and understanding. Phyton's insides clenched.

_No... I was supposed to be the only one who understood her, the only one who she allowed into her heart... the only one she accepted... No..._

Somebody clenched Phyton tightly by the waist.

"Come on, Phyton, make a cute face for the camera!"

_How can it be? What happened? _

"Hey! Don't try to hog him all for yourself! I want a picture, too!"

_I didn't want to be the weak boy that she pitied. I wanted for her to respect me, I wanted for her to see me as someone who could protect her. And I was embarrassed to give her the real reason I cut off all my hair before enrolling into Hogwarts. I wanted for her to see me more as a man... But..._

"Who would have thought Phyton would look so cute in a dress! It's amazing!"

_What happened?_

"We should try putting lipstick on him!"

_What happened?_

_All the effort placed into us. All the years. _

"No, hands _off_!"

_All the years..._

"Ghee, get off him! Who do you think you are!?"

_Wasted._


End file.
